For many situations, the best protection against unexpected events is to have a good plan in place and to be ready to use it. Conventional contingency management systems usually are organized by Threat Identification, Risk Assessment, and Planning Prioritization; Review and Development of the Plan; Simulation Training of Plan Execution; Response to an Event; Management of Plan Execution; Response to an Event; Recovery and Operation Resumption; and Disengagement from Contingent Operation.
Threat Identification, Risk Assessment, and Planning Prioritization typically includes the identification and assessment of threats and the prioritization of event planning efforts (i.e., planning for a worst case scenario, etc.). In a less dynamic environment, a controllable scope of the plan may be defined.
Review and Development of the Plan typically is a review of the existing plan and the development of a new plan defined by the project scope. The event that will trigger a plan's implementation may also be determined.
Simulation Training of Plan Execution, once the plan is finalized, ensures smooth and successful implementation by training for implementation of the contingency plan. Response to an Event, when a contingency occurs, may require a strong system of threat monitoring, emergency notification, and command and control systems. A contingency plan may be implemented when a trigger event occurs. Contingency plans may be put into effect anytime to prevent a service disruption. The objective of a plan execution step is the smooth and efficient planning of the contingency plan. A strong command and control system may ensure that the plan activation and monitoring is carried out in an organized and controlled manner.
Management of Plan Execution typically ensures rapid oversight and rapid decision-making. Management includes factors such as event information, current mission plan, and deployed resources.
Response to an Event, when an event occurs, provides real-time tracking of events and a response of resources for the event. The potential for many simultaneous events may require a robust data management system.
Recovery and Operation Resumption provides business resumption and recovery planning by the contingency plan. Disengagement from Contingent Operation provides determination of trigger events for ending a contingency mode of operation. Test plans and scripts for these operations may be predetermined.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to plan for contingencies ahead of time and have a defined backup plan. The set of contingencies may only be described by broad classes and not by a finite set of discrete occurrences. Thus it is not possible to develop a detailed backup plan for each possible contingency. Backup plans typically need to be created on the fly and implemented at the right level of detail in the plan hierarchy for the plan to continue seamlessly. This is not conventionally the case.
Conventional mission planning methods rely heavily on human operation to prepare plans and monitor plan execution. Tools which attempt automated planning using traditional models (i.e., batch processes, sense and act, etc.) typically require long advance preparation times for determination of the plan, based on static or predicted feedback. There is thus limited ability to handle complex, large dimension problems and to quickly refine or replan based on unfolding dynamic events that will be the norm rather than the exception for most urban operations. A dynamic, self-planning contingency management system is desirable to effectively execute a mission plan in a warfare environment that is dynamic and constantly changing.